A three-month supply sold out in almost a week, co-founder David Cole says. Luckily, the brewery continues to roll out new beers daily will, hopefully, have those coolers fully stocked again by mid-June. It also has four more stainless-steel fermenting tanks on order and, by midsummer, will have more than doubled its brewing capacity.
Epic Brewing, which officially opened its store May 17, is only brewing so-called “heavy” beer—meaning it contains alcohol above the 4 percent by volume (3.2 percent by weight) alcohol limit for “Utah beer.” Epic did so because the challenges of brewing Utah beer are different.
“There are other breweries making great 3.2 beer, so we want to focus on making great high-point beers,” Cole says.
Indeed, its lowest alcohol beer, the Cross Fever amber, is 4.8 percent by volume. Its highest, on the other hand, currently, is the 9 percent Hopulent double IPA, although Cole says the next bottling of Hopulent is going to be at about 9.7 percent.
That’s right, different batches of the same beer are different, which Cole says is to be expected with many beers. Along with higher alcohol, the second Hopulent batch is hoppier because it was dry-hopped with locally grown dried whole hops. Also, the next batch of the 825 State stout will feature a different yeast strain.
That experimentation means that drinkers will continually be surprised, but it also means higher costs. Thus, all of Epic’s beers—bottled in 22-ounce bottles—start at about $3. However, Epic beers are more like a nice bottle of wine, meant for sharing and savoring with friends. You’ll have to take your beer home to share, as Epic currently only sells beer to go. It is not licensed to serve beer on premises.
Experimentation will be most noticeable with Epic’s “Exponential Series,” where the brewers take an ethos developed as home brewers—try anything, just for the hell of it—and translate it on a commercial scale. On May 28, Epic began selling the first three Exponential beers: A surprisingly nutty, full-bodied Brown Rice Ale, an Imperial red ale and a Sour Apple Saison.
Enough about the philosophy—how are the beers? Personally, I jump straight to dark beers—especially stouts—to garner a first impression of a microbrewery. I first sampled Epic’s 825 State stout and Galloway porter on a beautiful spring evening at The Beerhive following a long (and sadly, alcohol-free) day at the Utah Republican Convention. That kind of insanity demands a drink with serious body—and thankfully, those beers did the trick.
The 825 State is one of the better stouts I’ve ever had, ranking (in my mind) with other favorites like Rogue’s chocolate stout. It’s relatively dry, and while there are hints of chocolate, it’s not overly sweet. At a recent Epic tasting party, the stout was perfectly paired with chocolate truffles. The porter, meanwhile, is sweeter than many porters and would work well with a hearty stew.
On the other end of the beer spectrum, three beers will be guaranteed crowd-pleasers, especially during the summer months. The Intermountain Wheat is an American hefeweizen that is not nearly as sweet as most hefeweizens, and sour enough that a squeeze from a lemon wedge isn’t necessary. The Cross Fever amber ale is more citrus-y than many ambers, making it a great outdoor beer. Finally, Epic’s Capt’n Crompton’s pale ale—probably my wife’s favorite beer at the tasting—is a classic American pale, dominated by Cascade hop aromas and malty sweetness.
All in all, Epic is further proof that, despite Utah’s reputation as a beer-impoverished state, brewing in the Beehive is flourishing.?
EPIC BREWING
825 S. State
801-906-0123
Open Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-11 p.m.
EpicBrewing.com
Lots of great comments. Thanks everyone for reading. I'll try to answer some of the questions and address concerns.
1. I think the "3 month supply" was conservative business planning. They could've invested before opening in more fermenters or waited longer to open to build their stock further, but this got their doors open quickly with low risk. Better to look foolish by running out then go bankrupt because you have too much.
2. Not only do I agree that Utah beer is good, I wrote a lengthy article for the Deseret News in 2002 about 3.2 beer and the myths. One is that no beer is 3.2 unless forced, when in reality there are great beers brewed to 3.2 by choice, Guinness being best example (and, on a side note, almost any "light" beer is under 3.2 everywhere, so buying it in another state to get a better buzz is foolish). Second, brewing 3.2 beer can be a lot more challenging because alcohol can hide a lot of flaws (most ice beers are proof of this). Utah brewers have mastered the art of 3.2. When it comes to lower alcohol styles, I'd pit Utah microbrews against anyone.
3. However, 3.2 has limitations and some beers cannot be brewed to style. Many Belgian styles, winter/Christmas beers, Scotch ales, anything "imperial," and real IPAs need alcohol above 5 or 6 percent. Utah brewers have started to do this, and there are some great high-point beers coming from the Utah breweries. That's great. The more beer there is, the merrier I am.
4. Epic's Cole told me that they are not making "session beers," i.e. the lighter beers with less alcohol that you can drink a few without getting bloated or wasted. Instead, they are primarily making big beers meant for slow sipping, more like wine or whiskey. And he's right. Most of their beers, one shared with a friend over the course of an hour is plenty. Not only because of alcohol content, but for many of them, the hops. Epic is targeting a niche crowd, those who love experimentation in their drinking. Some of their beers will fail, and their prices make it difficult to justify buying Epic beers for daily drinking. But overall, I think they will be an impressive brewery.
5. As for the experimentation, to me, it's a lot like a small restaurant where the chef never serves the same dish twice, even if it's named the same thing. They are making small tweaks to their beers, not major changes. I'll be personally disappointed if they decide to brew the same recipe every time.
6. As for the local media ... you're mostly right. I would attribute that more to the lack of beer snobs in the media than anything else. But I would say that, at least at City Weekly, we are trying to focus our Drink coverage on beer a little more. I've written articles about the high-point beers at other breweries, and we spotlighted The Pub's beer school in a recent article. I think that just as Utah's high-point beer brewing is still maturing (even though some breweries have done it for years, Uinta in particular), so is the beer media.
6. Finally, to end this lengthy response, watch the blogs. In the next couple of days, I'll post my thoughts on the three Epic beers released last week. Hayduke, I'd love for you to post on that one your thoughts on the Saison.
I'm glad Epic has fans and am glad they're here.
As I've said before, I wish Epic well. But that won't stop me from judging them on their merits. If I seem too critical, so be it.
I know beer and am interested in our brew culture. What bothers me most here is not necessarily Epic, which all of you seem to have missed, but the way in which the local media has inferred that, until now, Utah has been lacking in good beer. That notion has always bugged me as it is ignorant and false and yet is perpetuated by Utah's denizens and press.
If I do have an axe to grind it would be because I've seen too many comments (from Epic fans, family, friends, etc) that Epic has the best beer in Utah, that Utah finally has good beer because of Epic, that there are finally full strength beers in Utah, and so on. I disagree and for good reason.
And so, I'll take the other side of this argument and will take Epic to task for their product and the way in which they handle their business. It's good for them, anyway, as it's just more press. This type of conversation serves to fire you guys up and get your butts into Epic's shop to buy more of their product. Go, say hello, buy their beers!
Epic will have my respect when it is earned. Of course they don't care about that. I'm sure they'd prefer I drown in a vat of chicken guts. But when I hear they've got the best beer in town and whatever, I'll sure as hell put that to the test and will address that issue honestly, which I have done. I wish now I hadn't said a damn thing because I feel guilty, but at least I was honest.
In closing, I'd request that any one of you, for the hell of it, give me a review of Epic's Sour Apple Saison. Break it down for me, for us, and let's compare notes. I'll write further if so. If not, I'll just slink back to my hole.
Cheers.
Hayduke -- it sounds like you've got an axe to grind. Of course the press is all over Epic -- they just opened and they are doing something different then other breweries. Why take it personally?
I think it's great that there is a new brewery in town. More the merrier. And as for the 3.2 beer, I think there are some really good beers brewed here but I'd rather the brewer not be constrained by some silly law written by someone who has never touched alcohol in their lives (as far as the bishop knows).
I think comparing an independent Utah brewery to a massive corporate restaurant is what is “short-sighted” here. The fact that Epic ran out of beer says volumes about Utahns and their desire for a brewery of this sort. Yes, we have a plethora of great breweries already, and yes, they have been brewing higher alcohol content beers for a long time, but, have we ever had an brewery that brews all it’s beer the way the beers were intended and traditionally brewed? No. Epic is a 100% new concept for this state, so of course everyone is going to try them out, and of course they are going to run out of the different beers from time to time. Supply and demand will keep people coming back. It is also “short-sighted” to imply that Epic is only brewing traditional strength beers for the sole purpose of adding alcohol. I think I speak for a lot of craft beer lovers when I say, I want to try new things, experiments if you will, and I want ever changing options. Another sign of a great brewery: thinking outside of the box and allowing it’s customers to try, and probably weigh in on, the different outcomes of a beer; this is a good thing.
If you would rather do and sample your own experimental beers at home, I say do it, that just means more beer for those of us that appreciate what Epic is trying to do.
Oh, and by the way beer guru, it’s GABF, not GABC, it stands for Great American Beer Festival.
Keep it up Epic, I’m glad you’re here and look forward to my next visit.
Just a bit short-sighted to run out of beer within the first week. Obviously, the "three month supply" wasn't anywhere near the amount needed. This is akin to In-N-Out running out of burgers because they're busy.
I think that it's silly when people equate strong beer to good beer. I've had loads of strong ales and lagers that were crap. Many beer styles are supposed to be brewed to a lower alcohol content and when they're brewed for strength only and not balance, it shows.
It takes a lot of skill to brew every style to 4%, especially those that are supposed to come in higher than that. There is no room for mistakes as there isn't the alcohol there to cover them up. Consequently, I think Utah's brewers are better skilled than many others.
Many Utahn's and others consider Utah to be some backwoods place where the beer is weak and watery. I'd point out that Utah has garnered more than its fair share of awards in every beer competition, national and international, including the GABC and World Beer Cup. Red Rock was recently (2008?) honored as large brewpub of the year at the GABC, meaning it was honored above all others in the USA.
I think it's odd that beer fans in Utah haven't noticed that many of our brewers have been brewing at full strength for years with excellent beers available at their breweries as well as the liquor stores.
What gives?